The
Hindoos are more serenely and thoughtfully religious than the Hebrews.
They have perhaps a purer, more independent and impersonal knowledge of
God. Their religious books describe the first inquisitive and
contemplative access to God; the Hebrew bible a conscientious return, a
grosser and more personal repentance.

Repentance
is not a free and fair highway to God. A wise man will dispense with
repentance. It is shocking and passionate. God prefers that you
approach him thoughtful, not penitent, though you are the chief of
sinners. It is only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to him.